Technology and Teamwork Achieve World Class Success for Shell Perdido

Perdido Spar at Technip's fabrication yard in Pari, Finland

In the high-risk ultra deepwater environment, success depends on two key components: technology and teamwork. Shell and Technip have applied innovative technologies and worked in concert as a team to achieve project success and set several world records for the Perdido Regional Host.

Resources for Results

Shell’s choice of Technip as its EPC company is a natural outcome of their long-term working relationship and Technip’s extensive experience in Spar development. In fact, the Perdido Regional Host is the fourteenth Spar delivered by Technip. In 2004, Shell and Technip had accomplished the world’s first installation of steel catenary risers at 1,939 m (6,360 ft) for the Na Kika project.

Technip was able deliver the special aspects of the Perdido project because of its engineering design expertise, industrial assets (manufacturing plants, spoolbases, construction yard) on five continents, and its own fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.

Spar at Record Ultra Deepwater Depth

Moored in close to 8,000 ft of water, the Perdido Spar is the deepest Spar production facility in the world and the first with DVA (direct vertical access), which will reduce drilling costs, simplify workovers, and facilitate access to subsea equipment. The Spar has a robust design that will help the facility weather extreme hurricanes better than other traditional production platforms.

Technip used its high-technology Deep Blue vessel to lay pipelines and risers for the Shell Perdido project.

Technip’s responsibilities encompassed Spar hull and mooring system design and fabrication, loading out onto a transportation vessel, transportation, and quayside delivery at a yard of the Gulf of Mexico. Technip’s operations and engineering center in Houston performed the overall project management and the global engineering design. The detailed hull design and fabrication was carried out by Technip’s yard in Pori, Finland. It should be noted that the Perdido project delivered the best safety performance to-date, for a Spar delivered from Pori, with no LTT’s in over 2.5 millions manhours worked.

Extended Length Flowline and Pipeline

Technip has helped set two new industry records associated with the flowlines and risers. Perdido is the deepest reeled flowline installation at a water depth of 2,961 m (9,713 ft). The facility also features the deepest reeled steel catenary riser installation at a water depth of 2,469 m (8,100 ft). The flowline and riser have a total length of 13.2 km (8.2 miles). The pipeline reached a maximum water depth of 9,713 ft along the route.

Perdido Spar as it is being transported to the final outfitting yard in the Gulf of Mexico.

Technip’s operating center in Houston executed the project. The pipeline was welded at the Group’s spoolbase in Mobile, Alabama. The offshore installation was performed using the Deep Blue, Technip’s deepwater pipelay vessel.

Umbilicals

Technip provided the engineering and manufacture of a total of four dynamic umbilicals, three static umbilicals, and two steel tube flying leads with associated topside and subsea hardware. Technip set another industry record for the umbilicals: the Perdido 1TOB umbilical is the deepest umbilical at 2,946 m (9,666 ft). The total umbilical length was approximately 51,729 m (169,723 ft). Prior to manufacture of themain umbilicals for the project, Technip’s DUCO division had built a prototype umbilical that was subjected to a series of qualification tests to prove the design for the challenging ultra deepwater environment.

Duco 1TOB 3 pass umbilical

Technology Driving Opportunity

Shell Perdido’s success is a testament to the leadership of both Shell and Technip in turning high risk challenges into safe and high-reward opportunities in the ultra deepwater subsea market. The Shell Perdido project is a great milestone for Technip towards achieving its goal to become a reference company for HS&E, on-time delivery and new technology.